Beit Trust Postgraduate Scholarships

In 2019, the Trust has awarded over 20 new Scholarships at British and South African universities, by means of generous academic partnerships with leading institutions. Shared scholarships continue with Rhodes, Stellenbosch and UCT in South Africa; and with Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Glasgow Universities in the UK.

The Trust again provided hardship support to financially constrained undergraduate and postgraduate students from the beneficial area. A total of 150 emergency Beit bursaries were awarded by hardship committees at four South African universities, plus others granted by the Beit Representative.

Since 2009, the Trust has helped the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). We have sponsored at least one aspiring surgeon per year, per country, throughout their five year training. In 2017, Beit-COSECSA scholarships were held by five Zambians, five Zimbabweans and five Malawians.

Beit Joint University Partnerships

The Beit Trust has partnership agreements with the Universities below. This enables the Trust to share costs, and to increase the number of scholarships it can fund. For this reason, applicants may apply only to the Universities listed.

These are the six Universities in the United Kingdom: Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Oxford and Strathclyde.

There are currently three active partners in South Africa: Rhodes, Stellenbosch and UCT.

These partnerships allow us to award joint scholarships (e.g. Beit-Cambridge, Beit-UCT, etc), and may change from time to time. Applicants must first apply to, and be accepted by, a Beit partner university before applying to the Trust for a scholarship.

Beit Trust Scholarships are for Postgraduate education. We do not provide scholarships for undergraduate work.

Our postgraduate focus is on Masters’ Degrees. The Universities above offer a one-year taught Masters in the UK; and a two-year taught Masters in South Africa. Both have a research dimension and the applicant must have obtained Honours at undergraduate level.

We do not offer scholarships for Ph.D. research ab initio. Only under exceptional circumstances, and for Beit scholars of outstanding merit, will the Trustees consider extending support to Ph.D. level.

By Act of Parliament, the Beit Trust supports ONLY students who are nationals of Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi, and currently live there. In addition, the Trust cannot consider applications from those who have already begun a course.

All applicants (except medical and veterinary doctors) must be under 30 years of age on 31 December of the year of application. Some experience of work after completion of a first degree is strongly recommended. Doctors and vets must be under 35 years of age on 31 December. They should have completed 18 months of internship, and a one-year, preferably rural, posting in the relevant country.

The Trust does not consider applicants for MBAs.

A Beit Postgraduate Scholarship Grant covers the following:

Fees, tuition costs and related academic expenses. These are paid by the Trust direct to the universities.

A personal allowance, index-linked in accordance with guidance from an independent authority, covering maintenance support.

Other allowances are paid for arrival, a laptop and a return flight home.

Economy Class tickets are provided for the initial journey to the place of study, and on final return.

No allowances are paid for spouses and other family members.

Prospective applicants must hold at least an upper second class degree (2:1): i.e. Merit or Distinction, with Honours.

The Trust is currently reviewing its scholarship process. The website will be updated in April 2019, with guidance on how to apply for scholarships for the academic year beginning in September 2020. Scholarships for the academic year beginning in September 2019 have already been allocated.

If you need any information about applying for a Beit Scholarship, and are from Zambia, please contact the Scholarship Secretary on scholarships@beittrust.org.uk.

If you are from either Zimbabwe or Malawi, please contact the Harare Scholarship Secretary on africa@beittrust.org.uk.